Hadassah hosts Israeli dignitary

Photo by Gwyneth J. Saunders/Bluffton Today. Deputy Consul General Sharon Kabalo spoke at the monthly luncheon of Hilton Head Hadassah.

Photo by Gwyneth J. Saunders/Bluffton TodayDeputy Consul General Sharon Kabalo spoke at the monthly luncheon of Hilton Head Hadassah.

Against a background of hope centered on an international medical center in Jerusalem, Israeli Deputy Consul General Sharon Kabalo spoke of hope in regard to the question of Palestinian independence.

“In order to solve the problem, we have to talk,” she said.

Kabalo was guest speaker last week at the monthly meeting of the Hilton Head chapter of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America Inc. Hadassah will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2012, capped off with the dedication of the Sarah Wetsman Davidson Hospital Tower at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem.

Referencing the several negotiation attempts over the past several years between Palestine and Israel, Kabalo noted that not all offers were appreciated by everyone on either side.

“I think it is about leadership. Fear of deciding and how the leaders will be seen in neighboring Arab countries,” Kabalo said. “Some Israelis have seen the offers made as going too far.”

A native of Jerusalem, Kabalo witnessed the cessation of building on the West Bank when a moratorium was called by Palestinian leadership. Yet, she said, there were still no talks.

“There’s a feeling of who’s our neighbor and why aren’t they trying to talk and reach a conclusion,” she told the gathering at Berkeley Hall. “On the other hand, we cannot go for a unilateral step, so there is no conclusion.

“We do not object to a Palestinian state. We just need to do it through negotiation.”

Kabalo said there was great concern with reactions no matter which way the request for statehood was resolved.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was expected to speak to the United Nations this past Friday night. In the meantime, she said, factories in Palestine were turning out Palestinian flags in anticipation of great celebration should the U.N.

“They are creating a high wave of expectation among the Palestinians,” Kabalo said. “And how should Israeli forces react when unarmed civilians go marching through the streets? It’s our nightmare.”

Should the United Nations accept Palestine as even a non-member observer state, she said, they will still have access to international agencies and forums.

Kabalo said the first step to statehood was Palestine going before the Security Council, where entry will be difficult because of the number of votes already committed against them by member nations and discussions being carried out with those countries who were still undecided.

And despite the gravity of the situation, Kabalo said there were many other issues that needed addressing.

“The poverty of women, human rights anywhere. In Africa, there’s a holocaust there and they are talking in the U.N. like this is the only thing that matters in the whole world,” she said, “and the Israeli state works on all those fronts.

“I hope they will be wise in reaching statehood through diplomatic negotiations.”

In response to concerns about the perceived weakening of United States support of Israel, Kabalo, appointed to serve at The Consulate General of Israel to the Southeast, said the current situation was quite the contrary.

“In the last few years, the support of the United States to the security of Israel has been the best ever,” she said. “I work here throughout six southern states and there are three missile programs developed here with Israel. We are very, very grateful for the amazing support of the United States.”

In regard to the current situations in nearby Middle Eastern states, Kabalo was most supportive.

“Egypt, Libya, Syria — we see them and they want to be free of oppression,” she said, “and we’re proud of them and their efforts.”

Kabalo concluded her talk with a bit of optimism.

“In the short term, it’s not going to be better, but in the long term, I really hope and I believe that in the long term it will be better,” she said. “Israel is strong, not only by its security but also by its technology, its next generation, its innovation.”